A defining experience that set the course for my teaching philosophy over 35 years ago came from a students’ question after my opening class presentation on the first day of the semester.
I told the students that we were going to go out and dig some clay, bring it back to class, soak it in water and strain out the debris and then make some pottery.
At the end of that first meeting, a brave young woman came up and said, “I have a question. You said we were going to dig some clay?” I said “yes” and began to reiterate the details of the process again when she stopped me and said, “No, I mean you said we are going to dig clay? Do you mean that clay comes out of the ground?” The beauty and value of the media I have had the privilege to share is the opportunity to go to the source – the earth herself – and experience, like our ancient ancestors, creative object-making now, in our own time.
This ceramic piece was made by a student from clay, dug along Road 145, and fired in a simple pit in the ground.